Exiled | Blu-ray (Chameleon Films)
Chameleon Films’ Blu-ray (Region B) for 2006’s Exiled, as well as 2004’s Breaking News, two Hong Kong thrillers directed by Johnnie To (Three, A Hero Never Dies). Both are now available at Goodie Emporium.
Exiled official details:
Wo (Nick Cheung) unwisely returns to Macau where Boss Fay (Simon Yam) has put a price on his head. His childhood buddy Blaze (Anthony Wong) is given the contract, while another lifelong friend, Tai (Francis Ng) is sworn to defend him. The scene is set for the kind of simmering confrontations that fans of Johnnie To prize so much. As characters loom out of the darkness, the tension is so thick you could pick it up with a pair of chopsticks.
Exiled is undoubtedly the high point of To’s work in the gangster genre. It seizes on elements central to the Hong Kong action film, such as the conflict between loyalty and self-preservation, and the way that male bonding is certainly stronger than death, and maybe even stronger than automatic weapons. It succeeds brilliantly in making these genre elements fresh through Johnnie To’s enormous talent and passion for filmmaking. The film is full of memorable set-pieces where taut confrontation is savoured in the moments before it explodes, and where inventive wide-screen compositions and crisply edited action provide a feast for any cinephile.
Exclusive Special Features:
- Limited first-pressing collector’s booklet featuring new essays by film historian Stephen Teo and Dylan Cheung
- New audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng
- “The Weight of Honour” – a new video essay on Exiled
- Newly translated and improved optional English subtitles
Archival Extras:
- The Making of Exiled
- Behind the scenes
- Photo gallery
- HK trailers x2
- US trailer
Technical Specifications:
- 2.35:1
- 1080p colour
- Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1 · LPCM 2.0
- English subtitles
- Region B
- BD-50
Breaking News | Blu-ray (Chameleon Films)
Breaking News official details:
The premiere of Johnnie To’s Breaking News at Cannes marks the moment when art cinema finally embraced the Hong Kong action genre. Here is a film as intelligent as it is tense as it is well-made. From the breathtaking intricacy of its seven-minute opening take, shot on location in a grungy side street in the New Territories, the complex oppositions that form Hong Kong society are subjected to ruthless scrutiny. The familiar opposition of cops and robbers (led by pop-star Richie Jen) is complicated by a further division between no-nonsense street cops (led by Nick Cheung) and the media-savvy inspector (Kelly Chen).
A stake-out goes wrong and a very public shoot-out leads to an official panic. When the violent, though quietly decent bandits are run to ground in a typically cramped apartment building, it sparks a media circus. Inspector Rebecca Fong (Chen) sees the whole thing as a show, as imagery to be manipulated to her advantage, but the outlaws armed with mobile phones and an internet connection, show that two can play that game. Hong Kong may be a city where media spin is king, but To delves beneath the imagery to the gritty realities that make HK truly unique.
Exclusive Special Features:
- Limited first-pressing collector’s booklet featuring new essays by film writer Hayley Scanlon and film historian Mike Walsh
- New audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng
- “A Propaganda Duel” – a newly extended video essay on Breaking News
- Newly translated and improved optional English subtitles
Archival Extras:
- Melbourne International Film Festival 2004 Q&A with Johnnie To
- Behind the scenes
- Deleted scene
- Photo gallery
- Theatrical trailer
Technical Specifications:
- 2.35:1
- 1080p colour
- Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1 · LPCM 2.0
- English subtitles
- Region B
- BD-50
Both titles are currently available at Goodie Emporium, a U.S.-based online store that currently has many Import Shaw Brothers/Golden Harvest/martial arts DVD/Blu-ray movies in-stock – with New titles being added regularly!
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